True Systems Audio Products

Producer/Engineer, Dick Hodgin of North Carolina's Osceola Studios values the "set it and forget it" nature of his TRUE Systems Precision 8 mic pre.

Producer/Engineer, Dick Hodgin of North Carolina's Osceola Studios values the "set it and forget it" nature of his TRUE Systems Precision 8 mic pre.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Being open to anything in the studio is an admirable quality, and producer/engineer, Dick Hodgin of North Carolina's Osceola Studios embodies it. For a man who's handled everything from Velvet Revolver and Hootie & the Blowfish to Corrosion of Conformity and Flat Duo Jets, the versatile performance of the TRUE Systems Precision 8 eight-channel microphone preamp is a welcome presence at Osceola.

"One of the first things I noticed about the Precision 8 is that it's not a piece of gear that I have to baby-sit," Hodgin says. "I think of it as a smooth preamp with a very slight colorization, and once I've got it dialed into a session, there's not a lot of messing around with it. You can set it and forget it."

Designed to provide detailed, transparent sonics for direct tracking and live sound, the TRUE Systems Precision 8 packs eight discrete solid-state microphone preamps and a number of highly useful features into a 1RU space. "As a studio owner, versatility is the key," Hodgin points out. "The P8 has been an excellent tool for insuring consistency in every type of project we do, including metal, hip-hop, pop, rock, karaoke and bird calls in the wild! These preamps - two of which double as terrifically full-bodied DI's - have a color. And the ability to use eight at a time gives me eight consistencies going into the recorder."

No stranger to the art of recording killer vocal tracks, Hodgin put the Precision 8, designed with a high-voltage composite architecture for very low noise and high headroom, to the test with a wide range of singers. "We do a lot of gospel here and I'm really digging it on female vocals. The P8 is extremely smooth on sopranos," he says. "I also do a lot of hard rock at Osceola, and I'll put a singer that's yelling hard and making big vocal sound effects through it. The P8 has the versatility to handle that tremendous dynamic swing."

Encased in the Precision 8's sturdy housing are a large number of features that bring a high level of flexibility to producers and engineers. Each channel has available phantom power, five-segment level indicators, smooth continuous gain controls, and easy interface to multiple recording mediums via the flexibility of dual DB25/TRS outputs. In addition, the built-in M-S (Mid-Side) decoder enables a higher level of creativity for spatial image control.

For Dick Hodgin, the arrival of the TRUE Systems Precision 8 at Osceola Studios coincides perfectly with a time when his top priority is simply to enable musicians to express their vision. "I'm at a point as a producer where I'd like to think less about operating my equipment and more about getting that player to complete the picture," he says. "As a studio owner, I care about versatility and I care about value. The P8 gives you that really solid, desirable high-end colorization at a really good price."

The Precision 8 is designed and built by Sunrise Engineering, a design and build manufacturer located in Tucson, Arizona. Neumann distributes TRUE Systems in the U.S.

Neumann's award-winning line of microphones has set the standard in the industry since 1928. In 1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone design and contribution to the music industry. A continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically refined products and engineering solutions of proven quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain unassailable. Neumann USA is owned and distributed in the U.S. and Latin America by Sennheiser Electronic Corporation based in Old Lyme, Connecticut.